The work of the Chainpur Seti Hydropower Project, considered important for the development of the Far-Western region, has been halted for the past two months. The Divisional Forest Office, Bajhang, has stopped the construction of the 210-megawatt project being built by the Nepal Electricity Authority, citing that the necessary government procedures were not completed before starting the construction.”

On July 10, the Divisional Forest Office sent a warning letter stating that the construction work of the project was being carried out in violation of the Forest Act and regulations, and instructed to immediately halt the work.

The Forest Office has halted the work on the project by sending letters to the District Administration Office, the Nepalese Army, and other agencies. As a result, the work being carried out on the land acquired by the project has also been stopped. In the last week of july, Divisional Forest Officer Shambhu Prasad Tiwari had sent a letter to the Nepalese Army, asking them to stop the illegal construction activities.

The letter mentioned that the project was carrying out construction work by using a national forest area and had not completed the necessary procedures outlined in Section 42 of the Forest Act, 2019, and Rules 87 to 97 of the Forest Regulations, 2022.

“As per Sub-rule (1) of Rule 98 of the Forest Regulations, before operating a government-approved development project in a national forest area, the concerned project operator must submit an application to the Divisional Forest Office for entry into the forest area along with the permit received for the project and other documents as per the agreement with the Department of Forests and Land Conservation. Sub-rule (2) of the same rule clearly states that after receiving such an application, the Divisional Forest Officer must conduct the necessary investigation and issue permission to enter the national forest area for the operation of the development project. However, since the project has been using the national forest area without completing any legal procedures and in violation of the prevailing laws and regulations, it is again being informed to immediately halt the work,” the letter states. The letter also mentions that a previous request had been made to stop the work until the process was completed, but the project had ignored the letter.”

After the letter from the Forest Office, the work being carried out on the land owned by the project itself has also been halted, causing disruptions in construction, according to the Chainpur Seti Hydropower Project.

Source: kantipur